Apple CEO Tim Cook joined the company’s new head of environmental issues, Lisa Jackson, to lead a large group of Apple employees who participated in San Francisco’s annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride parade on Sunday. Members of the Apple brigade handed out iTunes cards good for one free song to onlookers.
The LGBT Pride event is an annual celebration held in support of civil rights and a reminder of the violence, discrimination and social stigma that were once pervasive against minorities of gender identity and sexual preference—as well as a reminder of further work that needs to be done.
Tim Cook tweeted about Apple’s participation in the event:
The annual Pride event is a month celebration, culminating with a series of events, including the parade, during the last week of the month. Apple employees posted photos from the event, many including selfies taken with Cook.
The parade is intended to serve as a reminder of the June 1969 Stonewall Riots, when patrons at New York City’s Stonewall Inn gay bar fought back after a police raid, bringing to the public’s attention a new era of civil rights protests for the rights of LGBT minorities.
Apple CEO Cook has addressed civil rights issues in statements numerous times, and the company has frequently aided efforts seeking to aid human rights issues.